Rob Cooke is a rookie in the 2015 Iditarod but he’s no stranger to 1,000 mile races.  He’s finished the Yukon Quest in 2013 and 2014.  Cooke came to Whitehorse, YT with nine Siberians  from the United Kingdom.  Now he has 44 Siberians managed by one cat.  Right about the time the sun set, which we couldn’t see because of cloud cover, Rob brought 13 very happy huskies into the checkpoint and parked across the aisle from Yvonne Debakk’s Siberians. 

With tails flagging and a spritely step, Cooke’s Sibes looked very lively coming into UNK.  He said, they’ve been in good spirits since Tripod Flats about 30 miles back.  However, the trail was blown over between Kaltag and the Tripod cabin.  That made for tough going.  His dogs recovered nicely with a rest at the Tripod cabin.  His average speed from Fairbanks to the coast is 7 miles per hour.

Seems like a lot of villagers came to welcome both Rob and Yvonne.  Seems like the villagers come out to welcome the traditional model of sled dog.  How can you resist a face like this?